United States and Confederate Stamps Postal History continued...

VERY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE FALMOUTH-CHARLESTON COLONIAL PACKET COVER TO GOVERNOR GRANT OF EAST FLORIDA.

Beginning in 1768 a courier carried mail between Charleston and St. Augustine in East Florida (Horowicz-Lowe, pp. 18 and 36). In the same year (Sep. 7, 1768) a direct packet between Falmouth and Charleston was established.

James Grant was a British Colonial officer who fought with George Washington and other American military heroes in the French and Indian War, only to face them as adversaries in the American Revolution twenty years later. From 1764 until 1771, Grant was the British Colonial governor of East Florida. In this letter to Governor Grant, a Mrs. Anderson of London refers to "war-like preparations" and to "the submission of the Bostonites." Her indignation is reflected in her commentary: "You must observe their insolent attacks and how disrespectful they are to all government." Grant himself regarded the American Colonials he served with during the French and Indian War with contempt, and in early 1775, anticipating the military conflict with the rebellious colonists, he sneered "...[they] could not fight...", and declared that he could "....march from one end of the continent to the other with five thousand men." (Image)

VERY FINE. AN EXTREMELY RARE "INLAND AND PACKET POSTAGE" HANDSTAMPED MARKING AND REMARKABLE USE ON A LETTER FROM THE OSWALD PLANTATION IN THE BRITISH COLONIAL SETTLEMENT IN EAST FLORIDA.

According to Citizens of the World: London Merchants and the Integration of the British Atlantic Community 1735-1785, by David Hancock, Richard Oswald established plantations in East Florida in 1769. There were a number of settlements, including Cowpens near the Timoka Creek, where this letter originated (based on the dateline). The plantations were not successful, due to Florida's soil and low-lying fields, a lack of infrastructure to support agricultural business, and problems with the labor force, which included a large slave population.

Beginning in 1768 a courier carried mail between Charleston and St. Augustine (Horowicz-Lowe, pp. 18 and 36). In the same year (Sep. 7, 1768) a direct packet between Falmouth and Charleston was established. The "INLAND AND/PACKET POSTAGE" handstamp on this cover is struck in the same ink as the "CHARLES/TOWN" handstamp, therefore, it seems likely that the marking was used at Charleston, but we have not seen it attributed to that office in any of the literature consulted. An identical or nearly-identical handstamp is found on packet covers leaving from New York. (Image)